How can I use certificate authentication with HttpsURLConnection?

Question

I\'m trying to connect to an HTTPS URL, but I need to use client authentication with a certificate placed on my system by third party software.

I haven\'t the slight

Answer 1

From what I remember from my last attempt of doing that, you can't use HttpsURLConnection. You can have a look to the Apache HttpClient library that has support for this.

Here is a code sample giving an idea of the process:

String server = "example.com";
int port = 443;
EasySSLProtocolSocketFactory psf = new EasySSLProtocolSocketFactory();
InputStream is = readFile("/path/to/certificate");
KeyMaterial km = new KeyMaterial(is, "certpasswd".toCharArray());
easy.setKeyMaterial(km);

Protocol proto = new Protocol("https", (ProtocolSocketFactory) psf, port);
HttpClient httpclient = new HttpClient();
httpclient.getHostConfiguration().setHost(server, port, proto);

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Edit (regarding Tom comment):

Here are some thoughts on how you can obtain the certificates stored in the Windows key store:

• You need to use the Sun Cryptography suite (ie, a Sun Java 6 JDK)
• You can obtain the KeyStore like this: ks = KeyStore.getInstance("Windows-MY");
• You can load it this way: ks.load(null, null);. The JVM will load the Windos keystore and take care of asking for the keystore password.
• You can then navigate the keystore like any other keystore.